September 20, 2013

Mexico: Isla Mujeres

After one day in Cancun I ferried over to a small island off the coast, Isla Mujeres. I decided to figure out Cancun's public transportation by taking a colectivo to the ferry dock. With a few language barrier issues and a random bus transfer I made it!

{ Backseat of the golf cart }

{ Baby sea turtle at the turtle sanctuary }

{ Reef shark }

On the ferry to Isla I met an older couple from California who invited me along on their day of golf carting around the island. After picking up our golf cart from one of the local shops our first stop was checking into my hostel, Poc Na, so I could drop off my backpack. The California couple was fascinated by hostel life and took photos as we walked through the lobby to my dorm and put my backpack away in the lockers. I later found out the whole hostel thought they were my parents.

After educating them on hostels we went to explore the very small island. We scooted around town through the narrow streets and down sandy roads to beaches. After we were acquainted with town we drove down to the southern tip of the island which was absolutely beautiful. It was stormy that day so the waves were huge and rain clouds were dark. On our way back to the north tip we had lunch at a delicious Rasta themed restaurant. We were also able to dry off since we got soaked in the golf cart, no windows to role up or doors to close. I had read previously about a turtle sanctuary so after lunch we went to find it. With only a few roads on the island we eventually bumped into it. Baby sea turtles, I am obsessed. We then followed a sandy path out of the turtle sanctuary and found a man holding a reef shark. Ok, awesome. The reef shark was massive, he did not make it look easy. Luckily the California couple loved exploring as much as I did. We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around the island going down dead ends, pulling u-turns and stopping randomly to take photos of iguanas (after St. Thomas I don't care for iguanas but they loved by them). After a great day they dropped me off at my hostel and they went back to their resort in Cancun.

That evening I took a beach walk around the point to see the sunset. It was gorgeous but I stepped on a pile of red ants so my feet were on fire for the rest of the night. After arriving back at the hostel lobby I met Alessa (Austria) and Nurit (Israel) while learning macramé from two Spaniards. We spent the next three days together on Isla before parting ways. We went snorkeling, laid on the beach, went swimming, did macramé at night and ate tacos! Isla is amazing. Everyone should go.

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Hello! I'm Holly

Welcome! Long Way Around Seven is where I share stories and travel tips from backpacking and living abroad. In addition, my goal is to answer the three most frequently asked questions from one traveler to the next – how did you get there, where did you stay and what did you do.